One Unsolved puzzle
by Ruby Luicano
Summary: Near thought he had Mello all figured out - he thought the blonde had always, and would always hate him. But recent events start to make Near question if hate is really the right word for what Mello feels towards him. Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**Okay! First Fanfiction. Yay. I've loved Mello and Near for all eternity, and the thought of them as a couple has long since planted itself in my writer's brain. So viola! This story. Yes, it's also on deviantArt. (TheRubyAlchemist) That's also me. I hope to only upload this story on here soon enough, as soon as I get settled in. (might now happen for a while considering I'm uh sorta stuuupid xD) But yeah. I hope you like it! Please Read and Review :D**

**Oh yeah. **

**I owe Death Note. That's why Mello and Near make out in every scene. (SARCASM HUN)**

I enjoy puzzles. I consider myself quiet good at them as well. There is seldom a jigzaw I am unable to complete. Of course, being the 1st sucessor of L, the world's greatest detective, I should be able to solve such puzzles.

I would be the best puzzle-solver in Wammy's House... were it not for Mello.

Mello. Blonde. Goth. Catholic. Firey. Tempramental. Violent. And nearly as good at mystery-solving as I am.

I'm sure under differant conditions we could have been good freinds. That is, if he didn't hate me as he did. Or does, rather. Even now, as I sit in the corner of the common room stacking legos into a tower, he glares at me from behind his math textbook. He holds the book by the spine with his left hand, a foil-wrapped chocolate bar clutched in his right. Every few minutes he would raise his hand and snap off a chunk with his teeth, making the chocolate produce a large cracking sound that I can hear even from across the room. Even as he cracks off a bite, I can feel his peicing saphire gaze on my face.

I keep my eyes down, still carefully stacking legos onto my steadily rising tower , only daring to glance up when I hear a page turn. By experience I know that this is when he actually reads; it takes him about a minute to read a page, no matter the content. After finnishing the page, he glares over at me for another 2, most likely solving an equation in his head while proving his hatred in the meantime. I have a minute to stare back over him, a minute to take in his feminine form garbed in tight leather, his silky blonde hair that was never out of place, his feirce blue eyes that were always narrowed, either in frustration, concentration, or loathing. As I gazed thoughtfully into his eyes, I couldn't help but wonder what made him so angry all the time. I was very differant; calm, blank, some may say emotionless, and I'm in the same position as he. Pondering further, I thought that perhaps his ceaseless anger resulted from his nature rather than from his nurture. Yes, that made sense. After all, most of the children here had been raised much the same as us, but their personalities widely varried, cheerful, somber, shy, oblivious...

I flinched as something hard stuck me in the chest.

"Hey, sheep!"

I was pulled from my train of thought by a deep voice calling out. Blinking, I realized that I had been staring at Mello as I thought, and still.

He'd caught me looking, and by his expression, he wasn't too thrilled about it.

I hurriedly returned my attention to my tower, my black expression not changing. I heard a snort, and a low grunt as Mello heaved himself to his feet. I continued stacking my legos even as I heard him aprouching. When he was close enough, he stoped, raising one foot to kick off the very top of my tower. The peices flew into my face and then onto the floor with a small clatter.

"Don't ignore me, you albino freak."

Resisting the urge to ignore him, as was my habit for most people, I sighed and raised my gray eyes to him. "Yes, Mello?"

"Why the hell were you staring at me?" He demanded, his already narrowed eyes narowing further. I felt a faint blush creep across my cheeks, and I ducked my head to hide it, pretending to be looking for a particular block while I searched for a rebutle. Why had I been staring at him? I didn't really know myself. Habit, I supposed. But that didn't seem like it would suite Mello's inguriries. I decided to switch to offensive.

"I could ask you the same question." I responded picking up a red block and rolling it bewteen my thumb and index, hoping that it would detract him.

It worked. I could almost _hear_ Mello's anger rise . "What is that supposed to mean?" His tone was defensive and irked.

Placing the block on top of my tower in the place of one Mello had kicked off. "You were staring-well, glaring, rather- at me from across the room as well." I cursed inwardly, aware that I had just admitted to staring at him. "You seemed to be thinking very hard about something. I was curious." Was that it? I wondered. Was I just curious about him? I stiffened, raising a finger to twist it around a strand of hair, as was my habit.

Mello snorted and snaped off a peice of chocolate, making me twirl my hair a bit faster; a response I'd deveolped when I was annoyed.

"So, you were curious about why I was glaring at you."

Not really a question, but I nodded.

"Well, I was glaring because I was wondering-" His tone grew harsher, mocking. "What went wrong at your birth to make you such a reclusive narcisist." At that he kicked the tower at it's base, knocking it down, where it his my head and shattered. I fell back, landing in a pile of blocks, with the remains of my tower on my chest.

I grunted quietly; my back and head hurt from the fall and my hands had dousens of sharp lego edges digging into them, but I wasn't about to show Mello any weakness. I waited until he walked away, chuckling, before I sat upright and dusted myself off.

I blinked at the remains of my tower before glancing over to the hallway that Mello had disapeared into.

I felt my eyes prick familiarly as they longed to shed tears from the pain Mello inflicted on my body and the hurt his harsh words had inflicted on my mind. Reclusive Narcisist... I inhaled deeply, then sighed. When had I ever acted like a narcisist? I couldn't recall ever bragging to my peers in any way or acting in any way to make them feel inferior. I kep to myself, yes, but more so out of social insecurity than arogence. I simply didn't know how to socailize with other children. With the exeption of Mello, I never talked to anyone if I could help it. I always wanted to talk to Mello... the one person who might be able to understand me, yet he always crushed my hopes with his harsh words.

I sighed again, clearing my mind of these needless distractions. They would bring me nothing but trouble. Repeating that over in my mind, I scoped up the legos and deposited them into the apropriete container before starting down the halway to my room for the night. I prayed that I wouldn't run into Mello; ironicly, his room was directly across from mine.

I checked the way before crossing; noone there. I sighed in releif, walking into my plain room. I felt much better once I was inside it's walls, felt like I belonged within my white sanctuary. It was past curfew time, so I didn't have to worry about Mello charging in. I was safe for with this knowledge, I took a shower and changed into my white silk pajamas, which looked very much like my everyday apearal, and slipped into bed.

I found myself unable to sleep. Something was bothering me, pricking in the back of my mind like a splinter. I stared at the ceiling for a while, trying to pinpoint the cause of my ansomnia. Could I have eaten too much? No. I'd eaten only a quarter of my chowder. Maybe I'd forgotten to do something? But my schoolwork checklist had been complete.

Frustrated, I sat up in bed and glanced at my clock. An hour had passed as I lay there, deep in thought.

"No good," I mumbled, getting out of bed. "I need to be able to focus."

So I set out for the kitchen in search of a glass of water, though it was forbidden to exit one's room after curfew. I hoped that if I was quiet enough, nobody would bug me about it.

After sucessfully obtaining my beverage, I tip-toed back down the hallway, my glass in my hands. I turned to head down my hallway, then paused upon seeing the door to Mello's room.

I could almost hear the click in my mind as I figured out what the "splinter" was. I was still upset about what he'd done earlier. This knowledge stunned me; that I was hurt over the opinion of another. Why should his words, above any others, affect me this much? I didn't like it. I narrowed my eyes at his door, showing my version of a scowl. Of course, that was as close as I'd ever get to actually scowling at Mello.

As I aprouched my door I heard his doorknob turn behind me and I froze; had he heard me out here? Recovering, I managed to slip inside my room as he was exiting his, closing my door with only a quiet "thunk" that even I didn't notice. Though I was certian he hadn't seen or heard me, adreinaline was pumping hard thought my veins, enhancing my hearing tenfold. I cautiously pressed an ear to the door, straining my ears, listening for his obnoxious footsteps that always announced his arival.

They didn't come. I leaned into the door the tinest bit, as if it would help me any.

There! I'd heard something, though it wasn't the thuding I was expecting. It was a quiet _pat pat pat_ across the hall, as if he was pacing restlessly, yet didn't want anyone to know. I glanced over at my degital wall clock; it read 1:32am. What was he doing at this hour?

I wasn't given time to ponder this; the pats paused.

Running on illogical panic, I rushed by tip-toe over to my bed and slipped under the covers silently. I pulled them up to my cheek, as if hiding, and curled up the way I normally sleep. It was redicules; like I was a child trying to hide from a parent when caught doing something wrong. Why did Mello scare me so much?

Through my inhanced hearing, even from my bed I was able to hear the pats resume again, but coming closer. He was heading for my door! I ducked my head a bit below my sheet and closed my eyes, taking deep breaths, both to calm myself and apear to be sleeping.

The door creaked open slowly, and a tiny ribon of light fell on the bottom of my bed, where my covered feet were. I cracked one eye open a tiny bit to watch as the blonde slipped into the small opening and quietly shut the door behind him.

I expected him to flick on the lights and yell at me to get up, but instead he just stood by my door, in the total darkness. He was in all-black pajamas, a balck long-sleeved tee and tight black sweats; I wouldn't be able to tell his form apart from the darkness, if not for his saphire eyes which seemed to glow feircely.

He just stood there, his eyes locked on my "sleeping" form. His eyes were so intent, so ultrafocused. What did he want?

Suddenly, he took a step forward, then another, and another, until he was standing over my bed, looking down on me. I closed my eyes, forcing myself to be "alseep". I concentrated on keeping my breaths even and regular.

After a moment, I heard a quiet, almost mournful-sounding sigh.

"You stupid sheep," Mello murmured, his voice the gentlest I'd ever heard it. I would've thought that he was using an affectionate tone, if I hadn't known better. That was impossible. Then I felt the lightest of fingers tug the covers away from my face, pulling them down to my shoulder. "This is the only time I get to see you look human, see you look normal." The same fingers stroked my hair away from my face. "Don't cover your face up." I almost stopped breathing. He was being affectionate. But... why? Didn't he hate me? Why would he be in my room, watching me sleep, when I disgusted him so much?

I was pulled by my confusion by Mello's light hand, which was resting gently on the top of my head, running his fingers through my white locks.

I forced myself to focus, to think of a something reasonable that would justify his actions.

Was he apologizing for bullying me so much, maybe? Or was he having problems sleeping and using me to help calm himself? ...Or could it be that he didn't actually hate me as he said he did?

No. Impossible. Through all his actions, words, implications, one thing was clear; he loathed my exsistance from the bottom of his heart. So him being here tonight must mean one thing; he's only trying to unsettle me. Yes, that's it. He's only looking for a new way to bully me. Nothing more.

My heart thudded painfully at this realization. It hurt to think that the one person that I may be understood by hated me in such a way. It also hurt to realize that he had some power over me, after all...

I sighed, and Mello's hand froze. I waited for him to finally lift his hand from me and leave, but he didn't. Instead, he unexpectedly reached down to brush my cheek with his other hand. This time it was me that froze, his touch set butterflies wild in my stomach, and my heart started thudding a bit faster.

But then he did remove his hands, stepping away from my bed. That felt wrong; I felt cold without him beside me. I wanted to tell him to stay, but then I'd be blowing my cover.

So I stayed put, silently listening as he left me alone.

Even when he was gone, I didn't have the nerve to open my eyes. I lay in bed, listening to the sound of my own heartbeat, until I faded into slumber.

The next day I awoke to the sound of many people cheering. I opened my eyes drosily, trying to sort out where the sound was coming from. Rubbing my eyes, I sat up in bed. I glanced at my window, hidden behind thick white drapes. The cheers seemed to be coming from outside.

I dressed quickly and ambled to the window, pulling the drapes aside. I sheilded my eyes from the peircing light that streamed in, looking down at the street.

It seemed that all the Wammy's children were gathered in the courtyard, all waving wildly.

Behind me, my door flew open and slammed into the wall. "Near!" Called the child who's room was next to mine, West. "Didn't you hear?" He asked, his eyes alight as he bounced in excitment. "Watari's coming! And he's got a message from L!"

I was awake immidiately. "I'll be down in a moment," I told West, who nodded and tore out of my room. I pulled on my socks quickly and brushed my hair out a bit before following him.

L! The excitment of seeing him almost completely negated the adverce affects of Mello's visit last night. I wondered what his message was; had he found any significant leads on the BB case? Had he solved it already? I wouldn't be surprised if he had. After all, he was the world's greatest detective.

I squeazed outside, trying to find gaps in the mass of children to get through. The sun was shinning harshly down on us, and it hurt my eyes. Normally I couldn't be bribed to come outside; my albinism made it painful to be in direct sunlight, but if it was L, I could stand it for a while. I pushed my way to the front of the crowd, where I could get a good veiw of Watari's car as it pulled in. Most of the children let me through; I was number one here, they recognized that and respected me. But others shoved into me, most likely jealous or agry...like Mello was.

As I aprouched the front of the crowd, the section right before the road, I scanned the mass for Mello. I found him a few children away from me, next to his gamer freind, Matt, whose attention was, as usual, directed at his portable gaming device. I focused on Mello; his blue eyes were wide, alert, and his blonde locks shone briliantly in the sun. He glanced over at me, his eyes narowing into a scowl before looking away.

I looked down, sighing, as I remembered his expression last night; nothing like it was now. Could I have been imagining all that?

"It's him! It's him! Here he comes!" The children around me squealed, and I looked up to see Watari's black car come zooming down the drive.

The crowd burst into more cheers, waving wildly. I tried to space myself from the more wild ones, butI kept getting jostled. Around me, kids were pushing to get to the front, to be able to see better. My head was staring to spin, from the sun and the constant jarring. I tried to plant my feet, refusing to be moved, but instead got shoved roughly from behind.

I fell onto the road on my back, managing a glimpse of my pusher's face- curly red hair and a face full of freckles- before I heard the squeal of brakes and the crowd burst into squeals of horor.

Somehting smashed into my side, and I screamed as I felt my ribs crack. The same force threw me down the road, scraping my arms and legs on the concrete. I bounced roughly on my right elbow, and I screamed again as it sent a sharp stab of pain throughout my arm. I finally stopped rolling, landing on my knees and good elbow, a good thirty yards from where I'd been struck. My head spun sickeningly; I must've hit it as well. I had just enough time to process that I'd been hit by Watari's car before my vision blacked out and I colapsed onto my side, my whole body in agony.

I could hear everyone screaming, "Near!" "Oh my god, Near!" "Is he okay?" "Call 911!" "Somebody get Roger!"

But even with all that nonsense, I was able to hear one voice in particular. It was a beautiful voice, deep, and as paniced as everyone elses, but somehow more lovely.

"Near! Near, come on, stay with me! Near, Near!" The voice sounded close to being sobbs...

I managed to open my eyes a sliver. Anxious, terrified saphire eyes gazed down at me from where I lay, wraped in strong arms. A ghost of a smile formed on my lips. "Mel...llo..."

Then I went under.

I was floating. That was my first concious thought. I was floating on air, hoving in a place with no pain. Was this what people called Heaven? The afterlife? Was I dead? I hoped so. I hoped that death was this calm, this painless, this quiet. I drifted in my silent heaven for a while, contentedly contimplating harmless things.

"Near!"

Well. That was strange. My heaven was supposed to be silent.

"Near. Wake up!"

I frowned to myself. I didn't like this noise. I wanted it to be quiet again.

"Come on Near, wake up!"

The voice broke through my cloud of comotose, forcing me into conciousness. I opened my eyes a tiny bit. I saw a white tiled ceiling and a bag of clear liquid. Where...?

"Oh, thank goodness."

My eyes drfited over to the sorce of the voice; a white haired man with a mustache and black suit on. I finally realized what'd happened.

"Watari!" I croaked, hurring to sit up. Bad choice; my head spun nausiating and every bone in my body protested violently. I fell back down, groaning.

"Easy!" The man said, a releived smile on his face. He stood, coming to rest his hand very lightly on my shoulder. I flinched, though he'd barely touched me it sent a wave of pain though me. He noticed and hurriedly retracted his arm. "How are you feeling?

"I'm sorry, Watari," I groaned, ignoring his question; it should be obvious how I was feeling. "I... shouldn't have been so close to the road..." I squirmed as more feeling returned to my limbs.

"Shh," He told me, seeing my discomfort. "You rest up. I'll still be at Wammy's when you feel better." He leaned over to press a button on the wall. "More pain-killers, please." He said into a speaker.

Oh, I thought. Morphine...

My eyes looked up to the bad of liquid. IV. I looked down at my right hand; my entire right arm was incased in plaster. My left was covered in gauze and a needle was taped into my wrist. My stomch churned. I hated needles.

I started when a nurse entered the room with another bag of liquid.

She hurriedly conected it to the tube atached to my wrist. Almost immidiately I felt my mind blur. I wanted to sleep more...

"Wait!" I called weakly to Watari as he prepared to leave. He glanced back.

"Yes, Near?"

"Mello," I mumbled, incoherantly. "Where's Mello? I need Mello..." I wasn't sure where this was coming from, all of a sudden I just needed him at my side.

Watari turned away - surely he hadn't heard me - and gestured to someone outside of the room, meanwhile I still rambled drunkenly,

"Mello... I need Mello... Where... Mello...?"

My eyes closed in a long blink and when I opened them again I saw a blonde, black-garbed angel by my side. "Mel...llo..."

"Near?" The blonde asked, his forehead creased with worry as he kneeled by my left side, my less damaged side.

I smiled upon hearing his voice, my mind far gone. "Mello. You're... here..."

"Yeah." He smiled grimly. His eyes swept over my broken form, tightening at what they saw. "You're pretty banged up, huh?" He whispered. He seemed to be trying to keep his voice light.

I ignored his words, focusing on his face instead. It was so close to me, yet so far. I raised my good hand slowly, reaching for him. He was too far away, and it was hard to move...

"Easy, Near," Mello gasped, seeing my struggle. I didn't move my arm down, and I kept my eyes fixed on his. After a moment, Mello seemed to realize what I wanted; he hestantly leaned closer so that I could place my pale, scaped-up hand on his cheek.

Through the haze in my mind I was surprised that a faint, pink blush spred across his face as I did so.

"Yellow hair... Blue eyes... pink cheeks..." I mumbled, my eyes slipping closed again. "So... pretty..."

I felt Mello press his hand against the one I'd laid on his face.

This made me smile again, and I sighed.

Before slipping under again, I thought I could feel Mello press his lips gently to my palm...

The next time I awoke, I was much more coherant; the pain had gone from sharp and throbbing to dull and aching. Much better. I glanced around at my suroundings. I was back in my room, back at Wammy's house. Roger must've moved me while I was alseep. I tried to sit up, but then realized that It was impossible on my own; my right arm was in a full cast, my right leg in an ankle cast, my right leg in a large brace, and my torso covered in bandages. The only part of me that wasn't completely broken was my left arm, and even there I could see many shallow scrapes.

I glanced at the clock. 6:23am. It would probably at least an hour before someone check on me. To fill time, I toook inventory of my wounds.

"Broken humorus. Broken ankle. Broken fibula." I ticked them off on my left hand as I continued. "Several broken ribs, probably. Many cuts and bruises. Concusion? Possible."

"Definately possible."

My head snapped over to the door, where Mello was standing, a sneer on his face.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty" He greeted me wryly. "Enjoy your nap?"

Now I was annoyed. Hate me or don't hate me, pick a side already! I rubbed my head with my good arm. "I did not espeically enjoy it." I responded, blank as I ever was with him. I din't care that my tone made his eyes narrow. If he was gong to act like last night'd never happened, or that he hadn't been in my room a few nights ago, then I was too.

Mello snorted. "Not even broken limbs fazes you. Even now, it's as if you have control of everything, the whole situation. I wouldn't be surprised if you planned to be hit."

"Of course not, Mello." I almost snapped back. "It's not as if I jumped in front of the car. I was pushed."

To my surprise, Mello's head snapped up. "By who-"

He was interupted by a knock at the door. "Mello? Is Near awake yet?"

Mello pulled a chocolate from his pocket and began unwrapping it. "Yeah."

The door opened and Roger entered, followed by Watari.

"I'm so glad," Roger sighed, seeing me awake and coherant. "You looked as if you'd never wake up."

"Told you, you old geezer," Mello muttered under his breath. "He's fine."

Roger silenced him with a glance before returning his gaze to me. "Needless to say, you won't be leaving your room for a few weeks."

I nodded. "When will I be able to attend classes again?" I asked, concerned. I couldn't let these injuries bring my grades down.

Mello rolled his eyes.

"You'll be able to use the walking cast in about three weeks, but there's no rush," Roger assured me. "You can wait until you're out of the casts completely." He glanced at Mello. "In the meantime, Mello can teach you your lessons."

Mello's eyes widened, and he dropped the peice of chocolate that he'd snapped off. I frowned. That would without a doubt leave a stain on my carpet.

"I can do what now?" He asked incrediously. He glared at me. "Who said I wanted to teach the sheep while he's handicaped?"

"Mello," Roger said flatly. "If I recall corectly, you did."

Mello froze. "When was that?" He asked though his teeth.

"At the hospital, you clearly asked what you could do to help. I told you that I'd let you know if there was something."

Mello had said that? He'd wanted to help me? Then he really did care about me...? I watched Mello's face carefully. A very, very faint pink spred across his cheeks. I was astonished. Just like in the hospital...

"Fine." Mello said curtly. "I'll help him." This shocked me even more. He was willing to help? I expected him to put up a decent fight.

A half-grin formed on his face. "I'll be nice, me the teacher, him the student, for once."

Oh. He just wanted to be better than me. As usual.

Roger nodded, clearly pleased. "Very good."

And he left, Watari trailing him.

I waited for Mello to follow suite, but he didn't. He only moved to shut the door behind them.

I tensed when he turned around; was he planning on hurting me in vengence for having to teach me?

"Relax." Mello snorted, rolling his eyes at my aprehensive expression. "I'm not gonna kick a sheep when he's already down." He walked over to my bed, examining my many casts and bandages. "Looks like I'll be teaching you for a while."

I nodded hestantly.

Mello started to ask something, then seemed to think better of it.

"What was that?"

He glanced up to look me in the eyes, his were intent yet somehow shy. "Who pushed you into the road?"

I narrowed my eyes, confused. "Why do you ask?"

Suddenly Mello slamed a fist down on the bed next to me, his eyes feirce and containing what I swore was murdurious intent. "Damn it, just tell me who is was, Near!"

"I-I don't know his name," I stammered, frightened a bit by Mello's sudden agression.

"His apearance then." Mello pressed, clenching his fist around the poor chocolate in his hand.

I hesitated a moment before telling him, recalling. "Curly red hair," I said, nodding to myself. "Very freckly. Taller than me. Green eyes."

Mello's eyes narrowed and I could almost hear the wheels turning in his head; going over all the children who fitted that discription. For a second, I feared for that child's life. I knew very well what Mello was capable of.

"Mello," I said suddenly. "Why did you come with Roger and Watari to the hospital?"

My question made Mello freeze, he stopped strngling his chocolate, causing many dark chunks to fall to the floor -more stains.

"What do you mean?" He asked, though I was sure he knew what I meant.

"Did any other children come with you?"

"...No. I was the only one."

"Why was that?" I pressed.

The faint pink that had apeared earlier became much more viasble.

"I... asked to come." He finally muttered suddenly intent on eating every little bit of his crumbled chocolate. I waited for him to continue.

He swallowed, looking down."...You were hurt really badly. I thought you wouldn't make it."

"You thought I would die," I stated flatly. Mello nodded. This baffled me. "Wouldn't my death be a releif to you, Mello?" I asked, and for once, my voice showed my confusion. Mello's eyes narrowed dangerously. I ignored this, continuing, "I would have assumed that you'd be glad to not have to see my face again. That you'd finally be number one-"

"Shut up!" Mello snapped, jumping forward to slap me across the face. My head snapped to the side and my cheek stung; tears formed in my eyes.

I glanced up at Mello, my confusion growing.

He glared at me more heatedly than he ever had before, yet somehow there was less hatred and more frustration and defiance. He stepped closer and leaned down to my eye level.

"Do you really think so low of me?" He shouted into my face. "You think I'm such a rotten, dispicable person that I would be happy that you're dead? Is that what you think?"

He didn't give me time to respond. "Well damn it, you're wrong about me! I wouldn't love it if you were dead- I would HATE it! I wouldn't want to acept the number-one position! It would mean nothing to me! Not if you weren't there!"

My eyes grew very wide uppon hearing his speach; what on earth was he saying? A second after he finnished talking, Mello's eyes widened as well, as if he'd just realized what he'd said. The pink on his cheeks switched to bright red and he hurried to elaborate.

"I-I mean that victory isn't worth anything unless it's deserved! And winning by your death is like winning by default - and that's just as bad as losing!"

His tough words were contridicted by the flaming blush that was now spreding to his ears.

I just stared at him, my face blank with surprise instead of emotionlessness. "Really." I said incrediously.

"Yes, really, you albino, judgemental, narcisitic freak." He pulled back and turned on his heels, then stomped out the door, slamming it, and leaving a trail of chocolate crumbs behind him.

I stared after him, mystified. Did he really care about me in some way? Or was he just more compassionate than I gave him credit for? It's true, many people would feel sorry for someone who's been hit by a car, but if it was only pity than why had he been blushing like he'd been?

"Mello," I muttered to myself. "You seem to be the only puzzle I can't solve."

**What do you think so far? Please tell me if something's unrealistic, or if anyone seems OCC to you - that's my worst nightmare. I don't want to write a MelloxNear fic if it's not REALLY Mello and REALLY Near :D**


	2. Chapter 2

The next day I awoke around 5:20; my casts made it sleeping very awkward. My stomach rumbled grumpily but alas I couldn't do anything about that, and it would be a while before anoyone came in to bring me breakfast. So I found myself a book from the pile on my bedside table and began reading. By chance, the book I had chosen was Romeo and Juliet. For some reason, this made me think of Mello.

I was at the part when Paris proposes when I heard somebody knocking on my door.

"Near? May I come in?" Called a voice. "It's West."

"Yes you may," I responded, placing a bookmark in my place and setting the book aside.

The door creaked open and my neihbor stuck his head in. "Good morning," He greeted me politely. "Are you ready for breakfast?"

I nodded, my stomach agreeing with a growl. "Yes, please."

West stepped inside and handed me a bowl of plain oatmeal, then set down a glass on orange juice on my bedside table.

He turned to leave then, but paused by the door. "Oh, and Watari will be broadcasting L's message in the common room today, at 2:30 and Roger will be rolling your bed in there so that you can listen as well."

Well that gave me something to look forward to, today.

"Thank you," I told him sencerely. He nodded and then departed.

Such a considerate person, I mused. I sort of wished that Mello would be a bit more like West. But then again, if he was quiet, respectful and polite, he wouldn't be Mello at all, now would he? I wondered if he like the others, would he still hold some power over me?

I took a bite of my oatmeal, pondering this.

I knew he meant something to me. I just didn't know what. And from his actions yesterday and at the hospital, I could draw the conclusion that I meant something to him as well. But I still didn't know what. As a detective, I really wanted to figure that out. And I had some idea of how I could do that...

I would have to ask him about the night he'd snuck into my room, for starters. And then about his reaction at the acident. I wondered how he would react. Would he deny everything? Would he brush it off? Would he refuse to answer? Or give me a few more bruises as an answer?

Well, I thought. I'll have plenty of time to talk to him while I'm healing.

At 2:00 on the dot, Roger entered at my room, followed my two nurses who were towing a wheeled bed. It took all three of them to lift my fragile, plaster-incased body into the bed, and every little wrong move made my limbs shreif in protest, but I bit my lip and didn't allow myself to express the pain.

After I got situated, Roger told the nurses that he had it now and began on his way down the hallway leading to the common room. Many others were on their way as well; hurrying to get front-row seats to listen to L. They all paused in their way to greet me and ask if I was okay. I, of course, politely assured them that I was fine. By their expressions, the children were not convinced.

We finally reached the common room, which was, as I expected, already swarming with orphans. Roger waved them out of our path so that he could wheel me up by the front row, in front of the off to the side of the laptop that served as our connection to L. I felt bad about that; I was obstructing the other's veiw with my bed. Although, It's not as if there was much to see; it was just the old englsi L on the screen, but still, I felt bad.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I glanced up at Roger.

"I'll be talking to Watari. Are you alright on your own?"

I nodded. "I'm fine, Roger. You don't need to be concerned."

Roger heaved a sigh. "I know I'm probably worrying too much. But I'd still prefer it if you had somebody to look after you while you're recovering."

He glanced up and scanned the crowd, then jerked his chin at someone, making a gesturing motion with his hand.

The person he'd beconed aprouched from behind, so I couldn't see who it was. But I knew who it was the seccond I heard his voice.

"Yes, Roger?" That deep voice could only belong to one person.

"Ah yes, Mello," Roger placed a hand on my head. "Could you keep an eye on Near, please?"

He was silent for a moment before answering.

"I could. I guess."

"That's not really nessisary, Roger," I protested. "I won't be moving for a little while, anyway,"

"I know" Roger answered, taking a step away. "But I'll be occupied after L's message, and I won't be able to roll you back to your room."

"Oh." I glanced over at Mello, who had moved to where I could see him. His expression was casual; almost bored.

I glanced down, sort of embarassed that I needed watching. Here I was, the number 1 sucessor of L, and in need of a babysitter.

Though Mello was right next to me, I said nothing to him, or rather, I could think of nothing to say to him. So much for the interogation.

"I'll be right back," He said abruptly, and turned to walk away. I strained my neck to follow him; he was across the room, talking to Matt. The redhead seemed confused about something, and by way of explanation, Mello thwacked him upside the head. matt raised his palms in surender and headed out to do whatever bidding Mello had forced uppon him.

I quickly pretended to be studdying my arm cast as Mello aprouched again. He lightly elbowed my good shoulder, leaning down a bit to mutter,

"Would you remember the guy who pushed you, if you saw him again?"

I glanced up at him, rather confused, when I realized how close our faces were. I froze. His blue-hot azure eyes seared into my own gray ones, and I could actually _taste_ the chocolate on his breath. My heart paused a beat, then took off double time.

"Greetings, children,"

Mello quickly pulled back and stood straight to listen to the computer's crackly "voice"

It took me a moment, but I also managed to refocus on L's message. I would not think about why I had reacted like a teenaged girl at his closeness. I would not think about that.

The "voice" continued. "You may be glad to hear, I have caught the LA BB Murdurer."

A small hushed cheer passed through the crowd, and quickly quieted down to hear the rest.

"I cannot disclose very much about the case right now, as it's a bit senseitive. However, I will have you know that I highly doubt a killer of his kind will rise again. Or at least, not for a very, veyr long time."

A small sigh of releif now passed through the crowd. I heaved one as well. Mello, Matt and myself had seen a few pictures of the carnidge the BB killer had wrought. Such grusome tactics...

"I had originally planned to return to Wammy's for a breif time, however another intruiging case has appeared. All I can tell you about it is that it involves the deaths of a great many convicts, over a widepsread area, and they're all dying of heart attacks."

"Whoa," The child next to me breathed. "Can you solve it, L?"

"Of course he can," Mello snapped, sending the child a seething glare. "He's L."

The orphan wisely closed his mouth and looked back at the screen.

A muffled chuckle came from the computer. "Thank you, Mello," The "voice" was amused. "I hope I will deserve your faith on this case."

Mello said nothing, but a faint gleam of pride shone in his eyes.

The rest of the conversation was a Q&A from the Orphans. Mello and myself didn't feel the need to participate, being as we were of the few who actually got to see him in person.

It was durring this time that I planned out my interogation with Mello. I would ask him in my blank, emotionless way, why he'd been in my room a few nights ago. Should he deny it, I would list the things he'd said, and describe how he'd caressed my hair. Would he hit me for that? Possibly. My injuries may stop him, though.

"Near." The voice of the person I'd been planning on interogating pulled me from my thoughts. I glanced up to see Mello standing at the foot of my bed, obscuring something from my line of sight. I noticed that the room had been cleared out; all the orphans and L's laptop were gone. I wondered how long I'd been spaced out.

"Yes, Mello?"

Mello 's eyes were narrow, hard and cold. He turned and walked a bit to the side, showing me what he'd been hiding with his body. He gestured.

I blinked in confusion. He - or Matt, rather - had gathered all of Wammy's red-headed, freckly children. There were five girls and seven boys.

"Mello, what is this?" I inquired, unsure of what he was hoping to accomplish with this setup.

"Which of them did it." Mello asked - well, not so much a question but a demand for an answer.

I din't ask what he meant by "did it". He wanted to know who'd pushed me into the road. That was why he'd asked if I'd be able to remember his face...

"Well?" Mello said impatiently.

I blinked, hesitaing. I met Mello's gaze and saw a feirce, firey seriousness that I'd only seen when he was working on a puzzle presented to him by L. Enticed by his mysterious determination, I raised my good hand to point to the fifth boy in line. He flinched a bit when he saw that he'd been singled out. He looked to about two years older than my 13, but still younger than Mello.

Mello turned and nodded at Matt. The redhead heaved a sigh, pausing his handheld game system.

"Everyone, you can go." He told his fellow group sighed in releif simultainiously as they headed for the exit, after the rest of the orphans.

The convicted child also tried to run, but he was cut off. Mello extended an arm in front of him, blocking his path. The poor redhead took a hasty step back.

"Not happening." Mello's blonde bangs fell in his face, obscuring his eyes, but by the malice and venom in his voice I could almost see his expression. He lifted his head, revealing his eyes; I'd been right. They glowed with blue-hot rage even though they were narrowed into slits. "You the asshole who helped Near get run over?"

Redhead's eyes went wide. "I didn't mean to push him into the road!" He squealed, his voice high from fear. "I just wanted him out of my way" His eyes snaked over to me and narrowed a tiny bit. "The kid's always up front, it pissed me off." Mello suddenly shoved the kid into a wall, one hand gripping his tee's collar roughly. Before I could warm the kid Mello snapped his other arm forward, punching him right in the nose. I thought I heard a crack.

The redhead groaned loudly and clutched at his swelling nose, his hand catching the blood that was now flowing out.

"Listen here, bastard," Mello hissed, hoisting the child into the air easily. "Only #2 in line to be L is allowed to mess with Near. Guess who that is." He balled his fist up again and drew it back

The redhead flinched. "I-I get it! You, you can mess with him only! Got it! Understood!"

Mello grunted, satisfied, and dropped the kid. "Go get some ice." He snapped at the child, who hurried to obey.

I stared at Mello, shocked.

He met my wondering gaze, turned that particular shade of pink again.

"What?" He asked defensively, looking down to wipe the redhead's blood on his leather pants.

"Why did you...?" I trailed off. I kept my eyes on his. He didn't meet them.

Mello dug around in his pocket for his chocolate which he crunhed into, still avoiding my eyes.

"You heard what I said to that asshole." He paused to swallow and then finally looked at me. His eyes were serious yet shy. "I'm the only one who can mess with you."

"Why is that?" I asked before I could stop myself.

"Because." Mello snapped off another peice of chocolate, grinning just a bit before he turned away. "I'm the one who's closest to you."

As he walked back to his room, leaving me in the common room, I wondered if maybe there was a seccond meaning to his words.


	3. Chapter 3

I was afraid. Beyond that, really. I was terrified. Why? For several reasons, actually. One: I was going to be alone with Mello all today. Two, I planned on interogating him during that time. Three, I would have to deal with his reation to said interrogation until I was fully healed.

I ate my oatmeal nerviously, my hand trembling slightly as I brought the spoon to my mouth. The cerial nearly ended up splattered across my face when I jumped uppon hearing rapping on my door.

I exhaled sharply, setting my breakfast aside. "Yes?" I called, and I was tremendously glad that my voice wasn't shaky. "Who is it?" As if I didn't know.

"It's Mello. I'm coming in, okay?" His tone wasn't really asking, and he let himself in without waiting for an answer.

His arms were full of textbooks - math, science, liturature, ect. - that piled up to his nose and half-obscured his face from me. He immidiatly moved to set the pile on my desk, avoiding my eyes the etire time. This was fine. I didn't know how I'd manage to keep my confedence if he looked at me now. I'd surely loose the nerve to ask him today.

"I hate science, so let's get it done first, 'kay?" Again, it wasn't really a question; he was already pulling the science textbooks out of the pile.

"That's good," I gave my acent anyway.

He turned towards me now, kneeling by my bed with his book balnced in one hand, and gave me mine, helping my one weak arm to prop it on a pillow so I could read it.

"Page 134," He told me, already focused on teaching. "Read it, then ask me if you have any questions."

I felt the nerviousness I'd been feeling before begin to fade a bit. For some reason, it annoyed me that he was being so buisness-like. His constant switching between protecting me, liking me, being kind to me, to hating, looking down on, and dismissing me was begining to drive me up the wall. I narrowed my eyes, which were focused on the page, and I felt something snap in me. Enough was enough.

"I have a question." I said before I could stop myself. "Why were you in my room a few nights ago, way past curfew?"

My sane mind returned to me just in time for me to think "Oh shit".

My eyes, now wide with disbeleif and teror, snapped up to Mello's face, which was quite similar to mine; his mouth was agape, his eyes were wide, his cheeks were a turning shade of red.

After a second, though, he snapped his mouth shut and regained his nonchalant expression, and managed a snide laugh.

"When was this, Near?" He asked, his tone was probably supposed to sound like he was humoring me, but the look in his eyes told me he was buying time.

"About five to six days ago, I beleive. The night before I was hit by Watari's car." I answered, carefully scanning his face as I spoke.

'That-that was- why would I be in your room?"

I didn't answer, as I saw the indistict pink on his cheeks deepen a little bit. I wondered at it, and the detective part of my brain began to take over. What did this evedence tell me? Clearly, that he didn't want mt to know that he'd been in my room. Now, why wouldn't he want me to know that? Clearly not because he'd stolen anything, or had done something wrong, and was fearing punishment. He'd done nothing but speak to me in a gentle voice and stroke my face and hair. He didn't want me to know that he'd done that... because he didn't want me to see him weak? Possible. Very possible. But maybe, because he didn't want me to make the assumption that...

This possibility seemed much more likely, and given his actions, both at the scene of the car acedent, and at the hospital, made much more sense. I gazed into his eyes, which were still laughing at me and moved my head a bit closer, testing.

Mello leaned back a tiny bit in response, his eyes turning uncertian. "Near?" He asked.

Again, I didn't respond. I stared right into his eyes, willing the truth to force itself out. I'd forgotten how eerie my eyes can be; all gray and luminous as they are; having them examin him so closely through Mello off. He put a hand on my chest and shoved me back roughly as he could without hurting me, pushing me back onto the pillow.

"Alright!" He snarled. "I was in your room. What of it?"

I nodded, feeling a bit smug over the small victory. "I'm a detective. I'd like to know the reason." I explained, wondering myself if that was really true. Was it just because I couldn't find the answer? Life was filled with unanswered questions. What's one more? But this one had to do with Mello...

I glanced up at him and was surprised to see that he was grinning now, and not just a normal grin, but one filled with myscheif and something I couldn't identify. He suddenly moved closer, standing up so that he towered over me, then leaning down so that he could smirk at me in close proximity.

"Really? You can't figure it out on your own? Not you, the number one sucessor to L, the world's greastest detective?" He chuckled, fixng his saphire eyes on mine. I was too inticed by them to respond, so he continued. "Shall I give you a little hint, Near?"

"H-" I started to ask, then broke off as Mello suddenly pressed his lips to mine. My eyes widened further than they ever had before, and I felt my face heat up as I blushed. There wasn't too much force behind Mello's kiss, but the very touch of his lips on mine sent a wave of electricty rocking through my entire body, making my limbs turn to jelly and my heart axcelerate. I started to tremble slightly, and I kno Mello could feel this, as he'd brought his hands up; one was tangled in my white locks, the other was holding my cheek softly, gently.

Just like that night, I thought dizzily. I was ready to fade into the kiss, into the intimicy, but Mello unexpectedly pulled back, a truhimphant look on his face. It made me unusually depressed that the kiss was broken; I felt cold all of a sudden, alone. Mello reclaimed my attention by grabing my chin and turning my head toward his, to meet his blue-hot eyes. He laughed uppon seeing my expression, then asked with a grin on his face,

"Understand yet, Near?"


	4. Chapter 4

"Understand yet, Near?"

I certainly did not.

I stared in bewilderment at Mello, my face still flushed, breath still too fast. He continued to watch me, amuzment prominent on his face. We stared into each other eyes for a long time, both of us trying to read the other. I was trying to figure out why in the world Mello would kiss me. He was trying to figure out what I thought of said kiss.

We both came up blank.

Suddenly, I was unable to stand feeling his hand on my chin; the skin there burned, like his flesh was electrocuting me. I yanked my face away from him and exhaled deeply, struggling to regain my composture.

Mello allowed me to, he sat back away from me, his mischeivious eyes still following me.

My mind raced, I searched furiously through the evidence of his actions, willing it all to make sense, but my thoughts were still jumbled from the kiss.

Think! I yelled at myself. Think!

Okay. Kisses. Used to express emotiions like love. Lust. Comeradery perhaps. Also they are required in some etticute.

We used no such edicute. That was out.

Comeradery. I highly doubted it. He considered me a rival. We were not comrads as such. I was certain of that.

Lust. ...I had never known Mello to be controlled by such emotions. He'd never ...relieved... himself into any girls, and certainly not any boys. So that was out.

That left only one option.

Love.

The word made my heart start thudding again. I didn't know why. I forced myself to think again. Was that possible? Evidence, evedence.

Lets see. He had previously displayed signs of affection. Minor ones.

1. when I was 'alseep' - he had tenderly spoken to me and carassed my face

2. when I was hit by Watari, he seemed the most distraught by my pain.

had gone with Watari to the hospital even though it wasn't nessisary, just to see if I was okay.

'd punnished (in what he thought was a fair way) the boy who'd gotten me hurt

5. The kiss...

But wait...

If we wighed these actions as crimes... His M.O... was completely off...

With the first four actions, the suggestion of love is merely that; a suggestion. There's no deffinate proof that love was the motivator. Also, all his signs of affection were secritve; as if he did indeed like me, but wanted that fact to remain secret.

The last action - the kiss - completely contridicted his previous actions. There was no other explaination - as explained previously- ; it was like a declaration.

There was no way... he would just change like that... if he did truely like me, he would have continued to keep it a secret. It would be humiliating for Mello to admit that I had any power over him...

It would ruin him...

to like me...

He would hate it...

But then...

None of it makes sense!

"Why... Mello, why would you..." I was gasping for reasons unknown to me. "You don't... you couldn't... it doesn't make sense... why..."

"Near?" Mello's eyes were no longer amused. He leaned forward, seeming surprised, almost horrified. "Near, what's up with you?"

I realized, as I saw the pages in my lap being spained with water, that I was crying.

Mello saw right away; he immidiatly stood up and moved in front of me to look me in the eyes.

"Near!"

"It makes no sense!" I said loudly. I was trembling. Why did this bother me so much? It felt like I was being ripped in two... the pain of my thoughts was too much to bare. "Get out of my room," I sobbed. Completely bewhildered, Mello leaned in and took my face in one hand. The burning was worse, more inteanse. I slapped his hand away, not allowing eye contact. "Get out of my room!" I repeated, louder. "You don't make any sense at all, Mello, just get out of my room!"

He steped back as if he'd been slapped, his eyes wide

"Near," He whispered. He heistaed, then turned on his heel and left, shutting the door behind him.

I stared after him, the tears rolling down my face on their own accord. I used my good arm to wipe them away, then pressed it acorss my eyes, trying to force them to stop flowing.

What was going on? Why would Mello... why did I... what was...

My mind refused to form coherant thoughts.

All I could think about was the kiss. About how his lips felt on mine. About how tense and melty I felt. About how my heat had skipped a beat. About how amused he seemed to be by my reaction. About how confused I was.

I shook my head, hard, and sniffed, wiping my eyes again. I didn't like this. I didn't like this at all. This feeling... It was like I'd swallowed lead. I needed to calm down, to think rationally. Think, Near, just think... be emotionless, be blank... be Near...

Now. What did I need right now.

My mind immediately screamed the answer: WHY DID MELLO KISS ME? DOES HE LIKE ME?

I analyzed what I'd thought of earlier, more in depth now.

Could those actions be commited only as an act of love...?

His panic at my injuring: possibly, but there were too many contibutig factors here, panic, fear, surprise, shock. It's possible he just rushed to me without thinking. After all, he lets his emotions control him all the time.

His punnishing my asaultant: more likely, though it's also equally likely that he just wanted to release stress. And Roger ihad/i just told him that he'd be tutoring me until I healed... so maybe he just wanted someone to take his anger out on, and I was out of the question, due to my injuries; he might've just gotten his rage out on a red-head and conceiled it with chivalry.

Visting me in the hospital... he had said that no one forced him to come... But it's very possible that he'd lied, out of pride, or something of the like. MAybe he'd done something bad and coming to see me was punnishment.

Watching me sleep... that was a bit harder... I couldn't think of any reason for him do that... I saw no possible motivation... if there was no outside force... Yes, it was Mello, acting on his own...

And the most important thing to Mello was being number one.

I felt my blood freeze.

He... must've heard me... known I wasn't asleep. He knew I was awake... so he'd done something deliberate like that to mess with me, throw me off track... that's all it was...

The kiss just now was the same... nothing but agrivation, distraction, instigation, manipulation. He only wanted to beat me in a new way.

And it worked.

WHY did it work?

Why was I so upset over all those little acts of kindness? Why was I so distraught over one little kiss? Why was I so hurt over the thought of his actions meaning nothing?

Why... did I despererately want them to mean something...?

I... wanted him to like me... but why?

The answer was obvious;

Because I... liked Mello.

I slapped my hand against my forehead and groaned loudly.

Wht sense was I making! Mello had made it clear before that he absoluelt hated me, wanted nothing to do with me. So why would I...

I thought of him, of his intense eyes, of our closeness when he kissed me. Of the burning on my skin where he placed his hands.

Shut up! I told myself, giving myself a mental slap across the face. Stop thinking like that, Near!

In my mind, I heard Mello saying my name. It stabbed me through the heart.

I inhaled sharply before the tears could start up again.

...I didn't understand anything.

I spend the rest of the day alone in my room, idly flipping through my textbooks and memorizing what I needed to. It was all fairly simple. I didn't need any explainations. Which was good, because Mello didn't return.

At 6:00 Roger came in to see our progress, and asked where Mello was. I told him that I didn't need his help, so he'd gone to play with Matt. He looked disappointed, but nodded, and went to get my dinner.

I stared blankly at the door when he left, wondering just what to do now, that I didn't have any work to keep me occupied, and I really didn't want to ponder my earlier revelation just yet. Roger had offered to roll in the Tv and let me watch, but I wasn't interested. I also didn't feel like reading, for whatever reason, so that was out too.

..So, what to do.

A soft knock on my door made me look up.

"...Yes?" I said after a moment, afraid it'd be Mello. I heaved a sign of relief when the response came

"Um, Near? It's Matt. I have your dinner."

"Oh, um, yes, come in."

The door opened, and Matt walked in, balencing a tray with a bowl of soup on it on one hand, closing the door with the other. He set the tray down in my lap, then went to exit, pulling a gameboy out of his pocket. I deliberated.

"Um, Matt?"

He turned, his eyes questioning. "...Yeah?"

"...Can I watch you play, for a while?" He raised his eyebrows; I elaborated, "I don't really have much else to do."

He blinked, then shrugged. "Fine by me."

He sat on the edge of my bed and played as I ate, his fingers pressing the tiny buttons of his game with surprising speed. I was able to gather that he was playing some sort of adventure game, oither than that, I knew nothing.

He didn't say anything; I knew he wasn't especailly fond of me, but then again, he wasn't really fond of anyone, other than Mello.

...Mello.

"Um, Matt?" I asked hestantly.

"Hmm?" He didn't move his eyes from the screen. ...Maybe I should ask indirectly...

"...Are you alright?"

"...? Why do you ask?

"...You just seem off. Did important something happen...?"

"Hm? Oh, no, not really." He glanced down slightly, somehow still keeping his eyes on the screen. "It's just, Mello started acting wierd. He was supposed to bring you the food, but he asked me to instead."

"...!"

What...

"How was he acting wierd?" I asked quietly.

Matt shrugged. "He seemed really... I dunno. Conflicted. And kinda guilty, for some reason. Which is wierd, 'cuase when he get's in trouble, he never looks guilty."

Maybe... No. I wouldn't allow myself to think about that.

"How strange." I said blankly, and Matt nodded.

"Yeah. And real sulky too." He paused, then laughed. "Like a lovestruct little maiden." He shuddered. "God, don't tell him I said that. He'd murder me. Okay?"

I looked away. "...O-Okay.:"

I didn't really watch him play the rest of the time while I ate. My thoughts kept drifting back to what he'd said... about Mello being upset...

Stop! I ordered myself. It... it doesn't make sense. It's completely illogical. Just stop thinking about it.

...I couldn't.

When I finnished, Matt took my dished and left after saying goodbye. I halfheartedly wished him luck with dealing with Mello. He laughed.

...Then I was alone again.

I heaved a massive sigh, laying my head back on my pillow.

I.. I just wanted to sleep. I didn't want to think any more. It hurt too much.

I closed my eyes and willed the world away. Thankfully, sleep overtook my exausted mind immediatly.

...For about three hours.

My eyes snapped open, and I glanced at the clock: 11:20.

"..." I forced myself back to sleep.

...For three more hours.

1:37.

Good lord. I wasn't going to be able to stay alseep tonight, was I?

I considered using the pain medication to help me get to sleep - but the pain wasn't really that bad anymore, and I didn't want to take it without cause...

But I wanted to sleep so badly!

I propped myself up on my good arm, trying to reach my bedside table, where the bottle was, but it was too far. I streached a bit, but no good.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when I suddenly heard the door start to creak open - for some reason I paniced, yanking myself back into place on my bed - and twisted my bad leg into an awkward position in the process. I cringed, trying not to make a sound, and closed my eyes. It hurt a lot, but i couldn't move.

The door edged open, and a sliver of light fell on my face.

I felt a creeping sense of de ja vu.

The door opened a tiny bit more, and somone - I'm sure I knew who it was, because the second he came in my heart started beating faster and I began to sweat - entered, shutting the door behind him.

Mello walked to my side, slowly, quietly, like before. He stood over me - or so I sensed; I still had my eyes closed - just staring at me, like before.

Then he heaved a deep sigh, like he was releasing some great burden.

"Stupid." He muttered. I heard him shuffle forward, and then his finger were wraped around my bad leg, gently easing it into a more natural position. I exhaled; that was far more comfortable. "God. How did you fall alseep like that?" He said quietly, then sighed again.

"...Why were you so upset...?" He whispered. His voice was... frustrated. Conflicted. :ike Matt had said... He inhaled slowly. "...What..." He trailed off.

He turned to leave, then hesitated.

He steped closer to me, then leaned down, over my face. I felt his hair tickle my face; his was so very close to it. I froze. He lingered over my lips a moment, then sighed, pulling back to place a small kiss on my forehead instead.

"..." He seemed to want to say something, then stopped himself. He turned, and this time, he did leave.

Once I heard the door click shut behind him, I let it out. I exhaled shakily, tears already pooling in my eyes.

"I...I don't understand... at all..."


End file.
